Richard Scrushy, shown here after his acquittal on fraud charges in 2005, is back in Birmingham to answer questions about the whereabouts of his fortune.The former HealthSouth
Corp. chief executive was sworn in just after 10 a.m. in U.S. District Court in
Birmingham. He was brought here from his Texas prison cell to answer questions
under oath, questions intended to uncover the whereabouts of his
fortune.

Lawyers for shareholders of Birmingham-based HealthSouth fought
to bring Scrushy back into court because he isn't cooperating with their efforts
to seize and liquidate his bank and investment accounts. He owes the company
$2.8 billion after he was found liable in a May civil trial of perpetrating an
accounting fraud that almost destroyed the operator of physical therapy
clinics.

Scrushy immediately began sparring with shareholder lawyer John
Sommerville. Scrushy stated his legal residence is at his Vestavia Hills estate,
which was seized last month and will be auctioned.

"It's where all my
clothes are," Scrushy said.

Scrushy appeared in a dark business suit with
a white shirt and red tie. His lawyers filed papers Wednesday seeking to prevent
him from testifying in his prison garb. Scrushy is in federal prison in Texas
after being convicted of bribing former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman. Unlike that
federal criminal case, today's asset deposition is a state-court civil matter
between two private parties, Scrushy and HealthSouth's shareholders. It is being
held in federal court because Scrushy is a federal prisoner.,Scrushy's
brother Gerald is in attendance, along several friends. The former chief
executive is being represented at the deposition by lawyers who include Art
Leach, one of the criminal defense attorneys from the 2005 federal criminal
accounting fraud trial at which Scrushy was found not guilty.

So far,
lawyers for HealthSouth shareholders have arranged the seizure of Scrushy's
vehicle fleet, boats and his two Alabama homes and their contents. The former
CEO collected $226 million in compensation from HealthSouth during the fraud
period of 1996 through 2002.